Feds cuff KISS rock star's DDoS suspect

The FBI has arrested a man suspected of taking part in a DDoS attack that smashed KISS bassist and reality telly star Gene Simmons’ web site off the internet.

Kevin Poe, 24, of Manchester, Connecticut, was cuffed and appeared in court on Tuesday to answer charges of conspiracy and unauthorised impairment of a protected computer regarding the alleged attacks. Investigators allege Poe is affiliated with Anonymous, the hacktivist group that launched an assault on Simmons’ online presence in retaliation for his aggressive public diatribes against file sharers.

GeneSimmons.com was knocked offline for five days in October last year as a result of a sustained attack launched by Anonymous.

According to the indictment, Poe (AKA spydr101) used a much loved software tool of the Anonymous collective – the Low Orbit Ion Cannon - to flood Simmons’ site with junk traffic. LOIC, be default, does nothing to hide the identity of its users, a shortcoming that led to the arrest of many alleged Anonymous members before the collective moved on towards using more sophisticated tools.

Poe was released on a $10,000 bail pending an as yet unscheduled appearance at a federal court in Los Angeles, a statement by the central Californian US Attorney's Office in charge with prosecuting the case explains.

The Connecticut arrest follows a raid in May by investigators in the Simmons’ web site DDoS case. ®